Living In A Van

Several years ago I read a copy of Vonulife -How to live out of sight and out of mind of those unwilling to let live. Vonulife was a newsletter published in the early 70′s by a guy calling himself Rayo (Tom Marshall). In order to escape the shackles of society Rayo spent most of his time living and hiding in the forest, residing in various shelters but mostly he lived in a pickup camper.

The more I studied his writings and life the more determined I became to try this for myself. I already had a four wheel drive van that would make a good shelter with a little improvement. I was single with no commitment and I needed an adventure. After working on the van for over a month and planning my trip, I headed out early Sunday morning in mid April 2005.

I spent most of my time moving up and down the Cumberland river in KY, spending a total of just under six months living out of the van. I did venture into town when I got bored or to visit relatives from time to time but mostly I stayed in the woods by the river. Overall everything worked out great and I consider this adventure to be one of the highlights of my life.

My point is don’t rely on a survival technique just because someone told you it would work or you read it in a book or seen it on Uncle Big Toms Blog. Never assume anything.

Trying it yourself is the only way to know if it will actually work. Don’t let yourself become an armchair survivalist, I’m afraid we have too many of those already…